Geisha Williams was one of the few female CEOs running S&P 500 companies

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PG&E Senior Vice President of Energy Delivery Geisha Williams speaks during a town hall meeting to inform residents at St. Robert’s Catholic Church in San Bruno Calif. on Saturday, September 11, 2010. (Jim Gensheimer/Mercury News)

Geisha Williams, who presided over PG&E’s mounting woes in the wake of lethal and disastrous wildfires in 2017 and 2018, has been replaced as the embattled utility’s chief executive officer as investors ponder whether the company will be forced into bankruptcy, PG&E announced Sunday.

Williams, the first female CEO in PG&E’s history, took over the job in March 2017, brought on board as an expert in electricity operations. But seven months after beginning her tenure as CEO, a series of infernos scorched the North Bay Wine Country and nearby regions and investigators eventually determined the company’s equipment was at fault in 17 of the blazes.

Then in November 2018, a deadly wildfire torched Butte County and essentially destroyed the town of Paradise and PG&E disclosed that it suffered equipment failures in the origin area of the inferno.

“While we are making progress as a company in safety and other areas, the board of directors recognizes the tremendous challenges PG&E continues to face,” said Richard Kelly, the board’s chairman.

John Simon, currently the company’s general counsel, was named interim chief executive officer while a replacement for the departed Williams is sought.

“We believe John is the right interim leader for the company while we work to identify a new CEO,” Kelly said.

The San Francisco-based utility had already been convicted by a federal jury in 2016 of crimes committed before and after a fatal 2010 gas explosion that killed eight people and destroyed a San Bruno neighborhood.

“The only surprise is that Williams wasn’t removed as CEO earlier,” said state Sen. Jerry Hill, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and contains San Bruno. “PG&E has been operating its electricity grid without using best practices and industry standards.”

The company has been attempting to burnish its image as an increasingly safe provider of gas and electricity services. Those efforts, though, suffered a severe setback by fresh questions that have arisen about the company’s commitment to safety in the wake of the lethal wildfires in Northern California.

Williams is eligible for a golden parachute of some considerable amount, depending on the precise nature of her departure as CEO.

According to a PG&E filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission this year, Williams was eligible to receive $10.1 million as her departure package if she was terminated without cause. If Williams resigned, the golden parachute would be $7.4 million. If Williams was terminated with cause the exit package would total $3.1 million. PG&E described the end of the Williams tenure as a “departure.”

“Our search is focused on extensive operational and safety expertise, and the board is committed to further change at PG&E,” Kelly said.